Preseason Bubble Teams: Notre Dame

March 1, 2019
By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 11, opening day for regular season action under IHSA regulations. Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2019 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, leading into a countdown through the official PBR Illinois Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a Preseason Questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2019 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Notre Dame
Preseason Rank: On The Bubble
2018 Record: 14-9
Conference: East Suburban Catholic
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Dean Cademartori
Playoff Run: Regional Final
2018 Final Rank: NR
Returning Starters: 4
Returning Pitchers: 6

KEY LOSSES

NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POSITION	COMMITMENT
Charlie Andersen	IL	Notre Dame	2018	LHP	Florida Southern College
Paul Bergstrom	IL	Notre Dame	2018	LHP	Creighton
Kevin Garcia	IL	Notre Dame	2018	1B	Concordia (IL)
Jackson Kaplowitz	IL	Notre Dame	2018	SS	Xavier

TOP PLAYERS

NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POSITION	COMMITMENT
Matthew Ambrose	IL	Notre Dame	2019	RHP	North Central College
Joe Buikema	IL	Notre Dame	2019	RHP	Purdue-Northwest
Nick Loizzi	IL	Notre Dame	2019	RHP	-
Nolan Cassidy	IL	Notre Dame	2019	SS	Saint Ambrose
Dylan Coleman	IL	Notre Dame	2019	2B	-
Frank Giamarusti	IL	Notre Dame	2019	2B	-
Bryan Broecker	IL	Notre Dame	2020	C/INF/RHP	-
Nick Gianikos	IL	Notre Dame	2020	RHP	-
Matthew Murphy	IL	Notre Dame	2020	C	-
Matthew Salomonson	IL	Notre Dame	2020	RHP/SS	-
Nicky Giamarusti	IL	Notre Dame	2021	OF	-

OUTLOOK

Notre Dame will be looking to replace 13 seniors in 2019 and thanks to a bevy of seniors and a talented junior class, the Dons should be more than capable doing so. The pitching staff, which returns six from last year's squad, should be led by senior RHP's Matthew Ambrose (North Central College commit) and Joe Buikema (Purdue-Northwest commit). Both pitch in the low-to-mid 80's and Buikema features a swing-and-miss breaking ball. Brian Broecker, who will also be a valuable position player, should get quality innings on the mound.

The biggest sleeper and x-factor to the staff could be junior RHP Nick Gianikos. The 6-foot-3, loose-bodied right-handed pitcher emerged at the recent Chicago Preseason I.D. Gianikos, has big upside and a lively fastball that touched 88 mph. If Gianikos can harness his stuff and be a consistent strike thrower this spring, he profiles as a late-inning stopper for the Dons.

One of the main catchers, handling the pitching staff should be junior Matthew Murphy. Murphy is a strong-bodied backstop with a big arm (81 mph from the crouch) and strength in his right-handed swing. When looking at some other position players, senior 2B Dylan Coleman, the returning team MVP, will look to lead the way. Juniors Matt Salomonson and Broecker should play a role in the lineup and on the mound. Salomonson was up to 87 mph on the mound this winter and will get some time at shortstop as well. Senior Frank Giamarusti should also fill in somewhere on the infield. A underclassman to keep an eye on in the coming year's is Nicky Giamarusti, a 6.46 runner and has bat speed at the plate.

There are still a lot of question marks on how the lineup will shape up but coach Dean Cademartori will have plenty of depth and options to choose from.

VIDEO SPOTLIGHT

Matthew Murphy (2.10.19)

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